Pakistan officials fear Islamic State trying to recruit university students

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police, Pakistan said that terror outfits like the Islamic State are trying to spread extremism and recruit students of leading universities.

Pakistan’s counter-terrorism officials fear terror groups like ISIS are trying to recruit varsity students as they held a series of meetings with vice- chancellors of 11 universities in Sindh province to counter any such attempt.

The vice-chancellors of the universities have been asked to increase the vigilance, security and intelligence network to save students from being brainwashed by terror groups.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police said that terror outfits like the Islamic State are trying to spread extremism and recruit students of leading universities.

“We have found clear evidence that these terror groups are now targeting university campuses where they are trying to recruit students from well-off families to join their extremist mission,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Umar Khattab of the CTD.

He said there is also clear information that some youth who had gone to Syria to fight for the ISIS had returned to Karachi and were now forming groups to carry out terror attacks.

“We have briefed the vice-chancellors of 11 universities and told them there is a need to increase the vigilance, security and intelligence network to save students from being brainwashed by such groups,” he said.

A Pakistani television channel last week had reported that four girl students were questioned when they submitted admission forms to the Karachi University.

In April, a 20-year-old second-year medical student was arrested after her husband was killed in an encounter in Lahore. She had travelled to Syria in February to join the ISIS and receive weapons training.

In a video confession played during a press conference, the woman said that she was to be used by the Islamic State as a suicide bomber on an attack to be conducted on a church on Easter Sunday in Lahore.

The CTD recently also held a workshop where all the heads of the varsities in Sindh province were invited and lectures were given on the issue of terror groups trying to recruit students.